PART 1:
RIO DE JANEIRO....
After learning more and more about Brazil and how great it is, i decided to quit going out and spending money on stupid shit and saving my money to go to brazil for a summer. I busted my ass at work and pretty much cut out 98% of the people in my life to focus on this trip.
after a year of planning and networking with other artist and photographers, I quit my job and flew out.
being inspired by:
graffiti
chics
sonik 3000
os gemeos
and good food
favelas(slums)
3 MONTHS OF NOTHING BUT GRAFFITI, BEER, LOTS OF BEER, CHICS, THE BEACH AND GUNS AND MORE GRAFFITI
(my graff wont be shown here but a few of you will get a peek)
this is what happened..
open another tab for a soundtrack to this thread..
http://www.myspace.com/cidinhoedoca
click on the song " bonde da CDD"
Within days of my arrival i find myself painting in the largest Favela(slum)"favela Rocinha" in South America. I had found these kids through a guided tour of the slum and they were down for me to paint. I was advised by the people from the tour that i would be going at my own risk and anything could happen in a section of Rio that was overrun by drug dealers and acts of violence.
After meeting up with these guys who couldnt speak a lick of english, it was strange.
I was kind of shook to go enter the slum(being a "GRINGO") It was fairly obvious that i didnt live there but i was with these guys and every drug dealer strapped with OZIs and 9mms knew my new friends and it wasnt a problem. they were actually hyped that a gringo was there to paint graffiti in there community.
this day we painted with some kid from norway.
LEDS starting to paint an octopus..
when i asked him why an octopus, he replied in Portuguese, "ive never seen one before"
good times with beer and paint..
ROLER
leds, aussie guy, 3 dudes from norway, roler, norway chic.
cheap beer in the hood..
this beer was about 50 cents US
this is when shit
started getting weird..
I met a drug dealer in Rocinha who called himself GIGANTE. he was a member of the imfamous drug gang A.D.A. (amigos do amigos)--which translate to "friends of friends". ADA runs ALL of Rocinha and controls the population, the drug sales in the favela that holds 250,000 people.
GIGANTE was drinking a beer along with Roler and i when he proudly showed me his 9mm Strapped to his waist. He was excited that I was there painting in his favela. He offered me Marijauna and asked for a can of paint. I gave him a can of paint and this is what he wrote.
I quickly finished my beer because things started feeling weird. I knew it was time to say goodbye and head back to copacabana. Jeremy and I waited for a good five minutes for the right bus to pick us up and up walked a kid about 16 with a sawed off shotgun. The situation was totally relaxed and calm but my mind was racing and i was getting more impatient. I told jeremy we were getting on the next bus out of the favela. The next bus came and it took us to Leblon. what a day!
studio/home of Leds and Roler..
chair made of 2 liter bottles and packing tape..
you get innovative when poor...